1 Kings 3 (New American Standard)

Solomon's Rule Consolidated

1 Then ¹Solomon ^aformed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter ²and brought her to the city of David ³until he had finished building his own house and the house of the LORD and ⁴the wall around Jerusalem. 2 ⁵The people were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD until those days. 3 Now ⁶Solomon loved the LORD, ⁷walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 4 ⁸The king went to ⁹Gibeon to sacrifice there, ¹⁰for that was the great high place ; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 ¹¹In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon ¹²in a dream at night ; and God said, "¹³Ask what you wish me to give you."

Solomon's Prayer

6 Then Solomon said, "¹⁴You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, ¹⁵according as he walked before You in ^btruth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and ¹⁶You have ^creserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 "Now, O LORD my God, ¹⁷You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet ¹⁸I am but a little child ; ¹⁹I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 "²⁰Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, ²¹a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 "So ²²give Your servant ^dan understanding heart to judge Your people ²³to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this ^egreat people of Yours?"

God's Answer

10 ^fIt was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 God said to him, "Because you have asked this thing and have ²⁴not asked for yourself ^glong life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself ^hdiscernment to understand justice, 12 behold, ²⁵I have done according to your words. Behold, ²⁶I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. 13 "²⁷I have also given you what you have not asked, both ²⁸riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. 14 "²⁹If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will ³⁰prolong your days." 15 Then ³¹Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and ³²made a feast for all his servants.

Solomon Wisely Judges

16 Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, "Oh, my lord, ⁱthis woman and I live in the same house ; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 "It happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth to a child, and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us in the house. 19 "This woman's son died in the night, because she lay on it. 20 "So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom. 21 "When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead ; but when I looked at him carefully in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne." 22 Then the other woman said, "No ! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son." But ^jthe first woman said, "No ! For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son." Thus they spoke before the king. 23 Then the king said, "^kThe one says, 'This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one'; and ^lthe other says, 'No ! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.' " 24 The king said, "Get me a sword." So they brought a sword before the king. 25 The king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other." 26 Then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for ^m33she was deeply stirred over her son and said, "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him." But the other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!" 27 Then the king said, "Give ⁿthe first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother." 28 When all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had ^ohanded down, they feared the king, for ³⁴they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to ^padminister justice.